Four Corners - Day 29

Start Location: Prescott, AZ
Ending Location: El Centro, CA
Miles Today: 282
Trip Miles: 9416
States Visited: 34
Provinces Visited: 3
Low Temp: 84 degrees
High Temp: 112.3 degrees
Min Elevation: -123'
Max Elevation: 6002'

Route Map:

Well, we have our first glitch today. While I am doing myroutine inspection of the bike this morning, I find the rear tire down 3 or 4psi. So I get out my extension hose and attempt to pump it back up to the recommended pressure. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to want to go over 40 psi. The next step in the process is a visual inspection of the tires, and sure enough, I find what appears to be the head of a nail in the rear tire. I don't attempt to remove it since I made that mistake once. I pulled what appeared to be a nail head from a tire and the tire immediately deflated leaving me stranded. So we go back to the room and hit the yellow pages where we find a local Honda dealer, Hales Motors. Their add lists their opening time as 9:00 am, so at 8:45 we are parked at their service department door waiting for them to open. They have a tire and promise me they would change the tire but could not guarantee a time since they have a full service schedule for the day. They finished the bike at 10:30 and we are on the road by 10:45 with a bill of only $195 plus a $20 tip for the service department. They also do an oil change since I had another 4000 miles since the last oil change in Asheville. Except for my experience in Asheville, I have always had great service from dealers when I had problems out of town. I mention this and the service manager says "Hey, we're all riders too and we expect the same kind of service whenever we're out of town." What a great attitude.

So the day begins again. We are back on route 89 and immediately see a sign that says Mountain Grade Curves next 15 miles. Here we go again. There is a short stretch that must have burned recently. The scenery was breathtaking but I can't get any good pictures. I say to Bob that every time I am ready to take a picture, he turns. He responds that I would be very sorry if he didn't. Point well taken. This picture doesn't adequately show the spectacular view, but it is the best I can do. We stop for a break and meet a guy riding a 4 wheeler. Bob asked him how he likes it and he says he doesn't. However, he tipped his previous bike over one day and he and his wife couldn't get it back up and were stranded. That is a definite problem which we understand since we have had a couple of tip-overs and it is all we can do to tip the bike back upright. He also tells us that the stretch of road we just came down has 130 some turns in 11 miles - nice.

We are not completely out of the mountains yet. This was taken from an overlook. Then the road splits and is one way. We have never been on a road through the mountains that did this. Most interesting.

We see our first cactus as the temperature reaches 100 degrees. From this point on, the scenery is not very interesting and the view of the road is very monotonous. It is getting hotter and hotter. I know that I am the one that likes hot weather, but I think 100 degrees is my limit. It is hard to drink enough to keep hydrated, but I know the consequences when I don't. One of the first sights of California is these dunes. It is just so desolate, but can anything look good at 112.3 degrees?

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